8 Most interesting and unknown facts about Golden Temple, Amritsar

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1) The name Sri Harmandir Sahib literally means the “Temple of God” and reflects the true meaning and purpose of this majestic shrine, which stands for treating God as one and making no distinction among his worshipers on the basis of cast, color, creed and religion.

2) In 1581 Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the son of Guru Raam Das became the fifth Guru and helped in completing the construction of lake and the stairways on every side to be paved with bricks.

3) The foundation of the gurudwara was amazingly laid down by a Muslim sage called Mian Mir, though its construction was started by Guru Ram Das in 1588 and completed by another Sikh Guru, Guru Arjun Dev.

4).The Golden Temple stands in all its glory in the middle of a holy tank called the Amrit Sarovar, which is a man made tank. Pilgrims who visit the shrine usually take a dip in the sarovar, which is believed to bear special healing powers.

5) The temple was devastated again and again, first by the Mughals and the Afghans and later during a clash between the Indian Army and terrorists in the Operation Blue Star of the eighties. But it has now been renovated and stands as a mark of glory of the Sikh religion.

6) The main hall of the Golden Temple houses the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scripture of the Sikh religion. It is placed on a raised platform under a canopy studded with precious jewels.

7) The Golden Temple has been a monument of worldwide fame on account of organizing the largest langar sewa in the world, where more than 35000 people are fed on a daily basis.

8) Structurally, the temple is located on a level below the ground level as it signifies that one must be humble and go down to reach the temple of God. This design is quite opposite to that of the Hindu temples, most of which are built at an elevated level.

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Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple is a landmark Vaishnavite temple situated in the hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Sri Venkateswara, an incarnation of Vishnu, who is believed to have appeared here to save mankind from trials and troubles of Kali Yuga. Hence the place has also got the name Kaliyuga Vaikuntham and Lord here is referred to as Kaliyuga Prathyaksha Daivam. The temple is also known by other names like Tirumala Temple, Tirupati Temple, Tirupati Balaji Temple. Lord Venkateswara is known by many other names: Balaji, Govinda, and Srinivasa.

1) This temple holds immense significance for people belonging to Hinduism. According to Hinduism, there is a total of 8 Vishnu Swayambhu Kshetras and the Tirupati Balaji temple is one of them.

2) It is the richest temple in the world in terms of donations received and wealth. The temple is visited by about 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily (30 to 40 million people annually on average), while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual Brahmotsavam, the number of pilgrims shoots up to 500,000, making it the most-visited holy place in the world.

3) The view of Tirumala hills from down in Tirupati.

4) The world-famous "Tirupati Laddu" is given at Tirumala Temple as prasadam. Tirupati Laddu had got Geographical indication tag which entitles only Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams to make or sell it.

5) Oil lamps are used in worshipping Lord Balaji. These oil lamps are placed in front of the idol of the lord. The amazing thing is that these lamps never get put off. No one knows the time when these lamps were lit up for the first time.

6) All Gods are worshipped by flowers and at the Tirupati Balaji Temple, these flowers come from a secret village which is never seen and discovered by any outsider and even they are not allowed to get into that secret village. The villagers are the only people who are allowed to that village which is 22 km away from the temple. Not only flowers, other items like ghee, butter, milk, bilva leaves, banana leaves are also provided by that secret village.

7) Lord Balaji statue has real hair, it is said and believed that Lord Balaji idol has real hair which never tangles and are super silky smooth always.

8) Lord Balaji’s idol has a specific temperature always maintaining 110 degrees F. But the temple is situated at a height of about 3000 feet which means the climate is normally cold up there and every morning at 4:30 am after the Abhishekam Lord Venkateswara Swamy is done with water, milk as well as other holy and divine dravayam, sweat appears in the form of fine water drops and particles on the idol or Lord Balaji’s body which is also wiped off with a silk fabric cloth.

Chittorgarh is located on the banks of Gambhiri and Berach River. A repository of folklore, historical events and rich cultural heritage, Chittorgarh draws thousands of backpackers and historical travelers every year. The Chittorgarh fort is a proud monument that is proof of the heroic battles fought by warriors like Maharana Pratap, Gara and Kumbha. The whole town is dipped in historical splendor with beautiful monuments surrounding you everywhere you go. The Vijaystambha, Kirtistambha, Padmini’s palace and Bassi fort are some of the other historical places in India that speak volumes about the Mauryan dynasty and its subsequent successors.

Let's take a look at 10 Interesting and unknown facts about India's famous historical place Chittorgarh:

1. During the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee in the year 2013, the Fort of Chittorgarh alongside the 5 other forts in Rajasthan has professed a UNESCO World Heritage Site under Hill forts of Rajasthan.

2. The Chittorgarh Fort was built during the 7th century AD by the Mauryans and was named after the Mauryan ruler Chitrangada Mori, and was used until 1568.

3. When men lost charging their enemy across the fort walls and lost the battles. Women being brave to have committed mass self-immolation (Jauhar). This makes the fort to signify the tribute, courage, and sacrifice. During 7th and 16th centuries considered death as a pride rather than being surrendered under the invading troops.

4. Earlier the fort consisted of 84 water bodies but now it is decreased to 22. These could have the capacity of 4 billion liters of water. That is equal to the water needs of 50,000 army men. The water bodies include of ponds, wells, and such resources.

5. There are seven gateways in the fort which was built during 1433-1468 by Rana Kumbha. The names of the gates include that of the Paidal Pol, Bhairon Pol, Hanuman Pol, Ganesh Pol, Jorla Pol, Laxman Pol, and Ram Pol, the final and main gate.

6. Rani Padmini was one of the prominent queens of those times. She was the wife of king Rawal Ratan Singh, the Rajput ruler of Chittor.

7. To commemorate the victory of Sultan of Malwa; Mahmud Shah I Khlaji in 1440 AD, the tower of victory named Vijay Stambha or Jaya Stambha was raised by Rana Khumbha. This is an expression of victory triumph- also called the symbol of Chittor.

8. When viewed from the higher view, the fort is shaped like a fish. It has a boundary of 13 km with a determined length of 5 km and it covers an area of 700 acres.

9. The fort of Chittorgarh contains a total of 65 notable buildings, including 4 memorials, 4 palaces, and 19 temples.

10. Having dimensions of 37.2 meters high and 47 square feet area, and has a perimeter of 13 km (8 miles), and is situated on an 180-meter high hill.

Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658), to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal draws in 7–8 million guests every year. In 2007, it was announced a victor of the New7Wonders of the World (2000–2007) activity.

The Taj Mahal was built by a whopping 22,000 laborers, painters, stonecutters, embroidery artists.

Emperor Shah Jahan intended to build another Taj Mahal in black marble across the river but a war with his sons interrupted these plans.

The changing moods of the Emperors wife are well captured by the changing hues of the Mausoleum at different times of the day. It takes a pinkish hue in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden at night when illuminated by moonlight.

It intricate work of art and architectural Beauty took 17 years to complete.

The ASI had to conceal the Taj during WW-II with a huge scaffold to misguide bombers.

The materials that were used in building Taj Mahal were transported to the construction site by the use whopping 1,000 elephants.

Many of the precious stones on the Taj Mahal were ripped off from the walls, by the British army during the Indian rebellion of 1857.

Did you know, there are 196 countries in the world today? In fact, there are so many countries, whose names are also not recognized by many of us. There are so many informative facts about different countries.

Let's take a look at 10 Interesting and unknown facts about different countries that you need to know:

1. The country which still follows a traditional calendar that is seven years behind the rest of the world

Ethiopia still follows a traditional calendar that is seven years behind the rest of the world. Because of the strong presence of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the country, the traditional calendar of that church is still influential in Ethiopia. The calendar came about in the 16th century, when most of Christianity changed the date Jesus is believed to have been born on, but those in Ethiopia decided to maintain the original date. Because of the time discrepancy, Ethiopia held celebrations for the new millennium in 2007, seven years after the rest of the world.

2. The country which falls in all 4 hemispheres

Kiribati is the only country on the planet to fall into every one of the four hemispheres of the globe, straddling the equator and stretching out into the eastern and western hemispheres. Kiribati was also the first country to see the dawn of the third millennium on 1st January 2000.

3. The country which is smaller than Central Park in New York City

Smaller than Central Park in New York City – Monaco: Although Vatican City is smaller (.17 sq mi) than Monaco (.8 sq mi), not at all like Monaco it doesn’t have any permanent residents which leaves Monaco as the smallest permanently inhabited nation in the world… Smaller than Central Park.

4. The most diverse Country

The Most Diverse Country in the world is India: In almost every category – culturally, economically, climatically, racially, linguistically, ethnically, and religiously India is either the most diverse countries in the world, or the runner-up.

5. The Least Religious Country

A 2007–2008 Gallup survey found Estonia to be the least religious country in the world. The survey asked respondents from around the world, “Is religion an important part of your daily life?” Only 14% of Estonians answered in the affirmative, the lowest of all nations. In contrast, in that same poll, Egypt had a 100% “yes” rate.

6. There is another country which has Hindi as its official language

Fiji is the only country other than India with Hindi as an official language. Native Fijians make up 54% of the population. Under British rule, Indian labourers were brought to Fiji to work on the sugar cane crops. Descendants of these labourers are called Indo-Fijians and today they account for around 40% of the population.

7. There are countries which do not have an Army

There are 22 countries in the world that do not have an army, the large majority comprising tiny island states or enclaves. Incidentally, this doesn’t include the Vatican City, which has the c as a military corps.

8. The country which has 23 native languages

There are 23 native languages recognised by the government in Guatemala. Overall, about 40% of the population speak one of these languages, including Quiche, Kekchi, and Mam.

9. The country which lies in 2 continents

Istanbul, Turkey, is the only country which falls in 2 continents.

10. The country which has the most amount of Obese people

Nauru has the most amount of Obese population in the world with over 95% of its population overweight.